How metro Atlanta ethics boards operate could change after a judge’s ruling in a DeKalb County case.
Former DeKalb County Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton sued the county Board of Ethics after it began investigating allegations she misspent public funds while in office.
Her suit claims it is unconstitutional for private organizations to appoint members to the ethics board, and a DeKalb Superior Court judge agreed in a ruling issued last week, according to the AJC.
But a Georgia State University urban policy professor emeritus disagrees. Harvey Newman said ethics boards should be independent from local governments to minimize political influence.
“The city of Atlanta, DeKalb County, and many other ethics boards for a variety of local governments in the metro Atlanta areas are based on this same model,” Newman said. “So it’s going to be a domino if this ruling stands.”
DeKalb’s ethics board has some members appointed by the county bar association and chamber of commerce; others are chosen by county officials. The county changed the way it appointed its members in 2016 after years of alleged government corruption.
DeKalb modeled the way it now appoints member from the City of Atlanta’s ethics board. Surrounding counties, like Cobb and Gwinnett, also have a similar makeup.
Stacey Kalberman, DeKalb’s ethics officer, said the county plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.
But for now, the board can’t move forward with any ethics complaints because the ruling has disqualified the board’s quorum.
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